Chocolate Beer Cake

For those of you who know me well, you know I like my beer.  Unfortunately, on the meds I’m currently prescribed, I can’t drink beer…boo (although I did find a way around it…O’Douls is actually pretty darn good!  It just doesn't pack a punch like alcoholic beer).  I decided that if I can’t drink it, I might as well use it to bake with!  Last night I played around in the kitchen and with a little bit of flour, cocoa powder, sugar and BEER, I made the most delicious cake and frosting!  Yes, there was even beer in the frosting! 

I found a recipe on Pinterest that looked pretty good, but it must have been from somewhere over the pond, because I surely didn’t understand the measurements!  Luckily my husband is smart when it comes to math and he was able to help me out.  When I realized that I didn’t have all the ingredients needed (and I wanted chocolate BAD), I improvised.  This is a test kitchen blog isn’t it? 

The original recipe can be found here: http://baking.food.com/recipe/chocolate-beer-cake-219846

Here’s how my recipe goes:

Chocolate Beer Cake with Beer (yes Beer) Frosting

Cake Ingredients
4 Eggs

2 Sticks Soft Butter

2/3 Cup Brown Sugar

2/3 Cup Splenda

2/3 Cup Cocoa Powder

¼ Cup melted chocolate (I used milk chocolate for making candy)

½ Tsp. Baking Powder

2 Tsp. Baking Soda

14 oz. Dark Beer (I used Pyramid Snow Cap Winter Warmer Ale…it is what was in the fridge)

1 ½ Cups Flour               

Frosting Ingredients

1 Stick Butter

½ Cup (or remaining beer in bottle) Beer

1 Cup Confectioners’ Sugar

½ Cup Cocoa Powder

Directions for Cake

1.) Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.
2.) Grease two 9in round pans.
3.) Cream soft butter, Splenda (or sugar) and brown sugar together. 
4.) Once that is nice and fluffy, add in the eggs and continue mixing. 
5.) Add in the cocoa powder and you’ve got it, continue mixing.
6.)Mix the flour, baking soda and baking powder together in a bowl.  Slowly add this to the mixture. 
7.) In the microwave, melt chocolate with a splash or so of beer.
8.) Once melted, pour into the mixture, mix well and then add remaining beer.  The mixture should have the consistency of well, cake batter.
9.) I use my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer, so I throw everything in there at once and let it mix while I do other things.  Great technique, eh?
10.) Distribute the batter evenly between the two pans. 
11.) Bake for 30-35 minutes.
12.) Remove from oven and let cool

Directions for Frosting
1.) In all honesty, I threw this together, only taking slight suggestions from the original recipe, but hey, it turned out amazing!
2.) Cream 1 stick of soft butter in the mixer.
3.) Add 1 cup of confection sugar.
4.) Once that is mixed, slowly add ½ cup of cocoa powder.
5.) Stir in the beer.

Once the cakes are baked and cooled, remove them from the pans.  Put a layer of frosting on one cake, then lay the second cake on top and spread remaining frosting.  Top cake with whatever your little heart desires.  Mine?  Fresh strawberries and Fat Free Cool Whip (with such a decadent cake, I had to go with the fat free). 

Overall, the cake was a success.  I did find that when I baked the cake, I tried to put in the ingredients as stated in the original recipe, however I found that the cake was very thin (of course I was baking it in a 11in cheesecake pan :).  I have doubled the recipe posting on this blog so that you can get 2 full 9in cakes.  I think the type of beer used also affects the flavor of the cake.  The Pyramid Snow Cap Winter Ale worked out fantastic.  When my husband and I were discussing the recipe, we decided that Guinness or possibly a chocolate stout (like Rogue Chocolate Stout) would be incredible in this cake.  Other than that, it was delicious!  I’m ready for dessert…again!